Thank goodness Stephen Colbert posted the above video. I actually do enjoy poking fun at how ridiculous this has become. Seriously though, money does not mean more than human life. But for the doctors advising athletes and those running the health organizations that we (the public) have been told to trust, I think it does. Case in Point . . CBC runs a program with Dr. Brian Goldman called "White Coat, Black Art". Yesterday, I left a comment on his post VIP Sydrome can be a patient killer: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/blog/vip-syndrome-can-be-patient-killer-1.3643676 Since the CBC has published my comments (unlike numerous U.S. media sources), I decided to submit the following to Dr. Goldman: "I'm stunned that Dr. Robert McCormack, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s chief medical officer said: "All Canadian athletes will be attending the Games ... and McCormack called Zika a 'pretty minor problem' for athletes and staff ... Our feeling is that it’s been a bit overplayed by a few individuals." Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/canadian-support-staff-opt-out-of-rio-olympics-over-zika-fears/article30570575 I don't think Dr. McCormack has read what 238 research scientists from 40 countries have advised. In the sidebar is "Why the World Health Organization is wrong about travel and Zika (June 13, 2016)": http://rioolympicslater.org He might have VIP Syndrome, Dr. Goldman. Could you kindly shed some light on what looks to me like willful negligence or misconduct on the part of all doctors advising these athletes?" In fact, Dr. Michael Burgess (Congressman and OB/GYN for 25 years) and Senator John Cornyn has set tomorrow as a deadline for the CDC to address six concerns. Here are just three: 1) Explain why Zika-related travel risks isn't on the 'Alerts and Warnings' page. 2) Explain why the CDC doesn't consider Zika an unprecedented threat to public health to warrant a Level 3 warning (to avoid all non-essential travel). 3) Provide a detailed analysis why the CDC does not consider this virus as presenting a high risk of harm to the next generation of Americans. Source: http://burgess.house.gov/uploadedfiles/cornyn_and_burgess_zika_letter_to_state_and_cdc_6.17.16.pdf I will echo the same thing for Health Canada; why is Zika at Level 2? Clearly it should be Level 3 or Level 4. [Note: There is no Level 4 for the CDC]. Level 3: Avoid Non-Essential Travel: "... issued during a large-scale outbreak in a large geographic area, or if there is increased risk to the traveler and an increased risk of spreading disease to other groups including the Canadian public." Level 4: Avoid All Travel: "... avoid all travel in order to protect the health of the Canadian public. A notice at this level would be issued if there is a high risk of spread of disease to the general public regardless of measures taken while travelling. Avoiding travel will limit the spread of the disease in Canada and internationally." Source: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/tmp-pmv/notices-avis-eng.php Notable points from a May 11th, 2016 CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy) post titled Animal studies detail marked Zika damage in developing brains: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/05/animal-studies-detail-marked-zika-damage-developing-brains "Our findings provide direct experimental proof that the Brazilian Zika virus strain causes severe birth defects—and that the full adverse effect upon health, even beyond microcephaly, is not yet fully understood." ~ Alysson Muotri, PhD Muotri said the tests on mice suggest that microcephaly is only the tip of the iceberg, given the extensive intrauterine growth development that the team found. "Media covering the Zika story have focused upon affected babies with small heads because such images are profoundly dramatic, but the true health impact is likely to be more widespread and devastating." ~ Alysson Muotri, PhD In tests that compared Brazilian and African Zika virus strains on human pluripotent stem cells, the effects of cell death weren't as pronounced with the African strain, hinting that mutations in the Brazilian strain made it more aggressive in human cells. Experiments with human brain organoid (3-D cell systems that simulate different parts of the brain) also showed a greater degree of growth disruption and malformations with the Brazilian strain. Bottom Line: Obviously we are dealing with a whole new beast here (in terms of viruses). And men and mosquitoes carry and transmit the Brazilian strain of Zika. It's high time that the public knew the whole truth. I'll keep you posted. Take good care, Rose Authors note: I cannot use italics or hyperlink. Ergo, links are not hidden. How your signature helps: each time a supporter signs a petition, an email is automatically sent directly to those being petitioned (governments, companies and individuals). When hundreds or even thousands of emails arrive in their inboxes, the message is impossible to ignore. Keep up-to-date: a new Facebook page devoted to keeping the public and athletes fully informed: https://www.facebook.com/StopZikaFirst